JP3995289B2 - Fire fighting robot - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a fire extinguishing robot including a water discharger connected to a hose for supplying water for fire extinguishing, a driving source, and a moving mechanism operated by the driving source.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In the case of a building fire, the original fire source is mostly inside the building. It is usually not possible for a firefighter to step into a burning building because of the great dangers such as building collapse, high concentrations of toxic and corrosive substances, high temperatures and radiant heat. Therefore, the dispatch team leader of the fire brigade generally decides to perform fire extinguishing work from the outside using a water discharger and a large nozzle. However, this attempt is not very effective. This requires a relatively large amount of fire-fighting water, which creates a problem of disposal of contaminated fire-fighting water. The ability to rescue at least some valuable machinery and equipment inside the building is limited by its low effectiveness. Similarly, in the case of plastic and chemical fires that are increasing in number, fire extinguishing work from outside the building is almost ineffective and a large amount of harmful gas may be generated.
[0003]
Accordingly, various fire extinguishing robots that fight fire on site are known, and these are mostly formed as vehicles with endless tracks, and are usually driven by a storage battery or power line by an electric motor. Examples of such prior art are shown in US Pat. No. 3,724,554 and US Pat. No. 3,726,478.
[0004]
Many of these known devices are first very large and very heavy for structural reasons, making them difficult to transport to the point of use, and furthermore these devices support the water discharger drive and its great reaction force. It does not have enough stand strength to stand firmly. These can only be used for stairs and rubble under certain conditions. Because of their heavy weight, these devices are usually not usable on lightweight intermediate ceilings or in high shelf warehouses. These are sensitive to thermal effects. In particular, it is usually impossible to design the relevant energy supply to be protected against explosions.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The object of the present invention is to be small and lightly formed, heat-resistant in spite of a small cost, explosion-protected and moved on stairs, rubble sites, or even uneven ground It is to provide a fire extinguishing robot of the kind described at the beginning.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
This problem includes a water discharger connected to a water supply conduit for supplying fire-extinguishing water, a drive source, and a moving mechanism operable by the drive source, and the drive source controls the water supply conduit . In a fire extinguishing robot that is a water turbine that can be driven by water for fire extinguishing supplied through
Water feed and has return line is provided, at the time of extinguishing robot non extinguishing operation, the water feed and the reflux conduit the water feed conduit, together with the water turbine and the pump is closed to cool the robot from inside It is solved by a fire extinguishing robot characterized by forming a continuous circulation.
[0007]
In this way, additional drive sources such as, for example, an electric motor with a storage battery or a relatively heavy hydraulic motor with an attached unit can be omitted, so that the fire extinguishing robot can be made relatively small and light. Fire extinguishing water can be used as it is as a drive medium. On the way to the fire site, and therefore in non-fire-extinguishing operation , the supplied fire-fighting water is preferably returned to the fire-fighting vehicle via the switching valve and the second hose and is therefore circulated by the pump. By constantly supplying fire-fighting water, the robot is cooled from the inside, thereby protecting it from overheating from the beginning. The same applies to two hoses which are preferably combined in one unit as a double conduit. A normal fire extinguishing rotary pump is preferably used to circulate the water for fire extinguishing.
[0008]
After reaching the site for fire fighting activities, such as a hall in a building, the return conduit is closed by a valve and fire water is discharged through the water discharger.
[0009]
In practice, the fire extinguishing robot stands in front of the building entrance and is connected to a normal fire fighting folding hose. The device pulls this hose back as long as possible. If the hose friction is added, or if the resistance due to tightening the hose is too great, the longer hose is preferably mounted on the fire-fighting robot and pulled out of the reel held by the friction brake, The braking effect of the friction brake is overcome when the hose is pulled as set.
[0010]
To protect against high temperatures and particularly large radiant heat, a tank is provided in the robot, which covers the water turbine and attached transmission and can be filled with water. . This filling takes place directly at the point of use, so that for the first time, the weight of the device is significantly increased, thereby improving the stand strength. However, a limited change in placement location is possible even with water filling. Self-protection is further improved by external nozzles that cool the surface of the robot. But this should only be done to the extent necessary. This is because this type of measure is responsible for the return of fire water and disposal.
[0011]
Besides protecting the device, the protection of the supply conduit is also extremely important. The supply conduit preferably has a double conduit that feeds and refluxs or feeds the water surrounded by a simple permeable fabric hose. Within this textile hose there is also a perforated hose in the form of a garden irrigation hose. When a predetermined temperature is reached, which can be detected for example by means of a temperature sensor, the fabric hose is always wetted through the perforated irrigation hose and is thereby cooled. The folding hose that supplies energy to the device is well away from the outside of the hall or from the fire.
[0012]
The moving mechanism is preferably provided with a walking mechanism that can move on stairs and can overcome obstacles such as a falling building part. The walking mechanism is provided with a large number of parallel aligned plates, for example parallel to the moving direction of the robot, and these plates are alternately fixedly arranged and swing along a circular locus by a crankshaft. can do. During the lower half of the crank rotation, the rockable plate protrudes downward beyond the fixed plate, so the robot is moved forward and supported on the fixed plate again during the second half of the crank rotation. . The bottom edge of the fixed plate can be jagged so that good support is obtained in overcoming obstacles.
[0013]
The device can be operated externally via a simple joystick circuit and a cable which is likewise arranged in the fabric hose. In that case, the circuit cost is limited to a simple and very reliable switching solenoid valve for controlling the water flow. Electrical energy is supplied via a cable or alternatively a small battery in the device. A switching member controlled by compressed air or hydraulic pressure can be used instead of an electric valve.
[0014]
In order to increase the versatility, it is also possible to use instead of a water discharger, for example a gripping arm that moves a gas bottle or a chemical barrel to a safe place.
[0015]
Other advantages and features of the invention are set out in the dependent claims.
[0016]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Next, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In FIG. 1, what is generally indicated by reference numeral 10 is a fire engine that substantially corresponds to the prior art and is not itself the subject of the present application.
[0017]
The fire engine 10 is covered with a fire extinguishing rotary pump 12 that is simply indicated by a broken line. The fire extinguishing rotary pump is provided with two outlets 14 and 16 via switching valves. . The outlets 14 and 16 are connected to the operation panel 18 via a hose by an appropriate method which will be described in detail later. The operation panel is connected to the fire extinguishing robot 22 via at least one other hose 20. A hose reel 24 is provided on the rear side of the fire extinguishing robot 22, and the hose 20 is wound on the hose reel.
[0018]
First, the details of the fire extinguishing robot having the attached walking drive device will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. As extinguishing robot 22 shown in FIG. 2 is shown schematically in this drawing, a housing 26 of the box shape (Fig. 3), the upper surface across the four side walls which are opposed in pairs with each other in the housing 26 ( 2 of which the side walls 30, 32 are shown) form a hollow double-walled tank 34. As soon as the fire extinguishing robot 22 reaches the place of use, the tank 34 is filled with water via the hose 20, which increases the weight of the relatively light fire extinguishing robot due to its structure. The stand strength increases relative to the reaction force of the water discharger shown.
[0019]
A water turbine 38 (FIG. 3) having an attached transmission is disposed in the central region of the internal space covered by the tank 34, and the crankshaft 40 is rotated by the water turbine 38. The two side walls 30 and 32 or the corresponding areas are mounted horizontally in the horizontal direction. A substantially rectangular plate 42, 44, 46, 48, 50, 52, 54, 56 is supported on the crankshaft 40. These lower end edges extend substantially horizontally, but are formed in a zigzag shape. Yes. There are provided at least two synchronously rotating crankshafts 40 for guiding the plates 42 to 56 as a whole, but only one of them needs to be driven using the water turbine 38.
[0020]
In this embodiment, a plurality of plates belong to two groups.
Plates denoted by reference numerals 44, 48, 50, and 54 form a first group, and are supported on a crank pin (not shown) provided eccentrically from the rotation axis of the crank shaft 40. The pins provided with the plates 44, 48, 50, 54 move along a circular trajectory so that the plates 44, 48, 50, 54 cycle first and then downward, back and Move upward again.
On the other hand, the plates denoted by reference numerals 42, 46, 52, 56 form another group and are supported on the bearing pins of the crankshaft, and these plates 42, 46, 52, 56 are stopped.
As described above, as the crankshaft 40 rotates, the plates 44, 48, 50, 54 cycle in order to move first forward, then downward, backward, and again upward to another group of plates 42. , 46, 52, 56 are on the plates 42, 46, 52, 56 while the fire extinguishing robot 22 is in the upper position. In this way, the digestion robot can move by the cooperative operation of the first group of plates 44, 48, 50, 54 and the other groups of plates 42, 46, 52, 56.
Alternatively, the plates 42, 46, 52, 56 may be supported on opposite crank pins that are not shown in FIG. Thereby, the moving speed increases. This type of walking mechanism has high stand strength, can move up stairs, and can get over heavy obstacles, such as a falling building part.
The water turbine 38 is driven by water supplied from the rotary pump 12. Therefore, no additional driving mechanism is necessary. On the way to the place of use, water first advances in one hose and retreats in the other hose, so that water is circulated. In this case, since the water is guided through the tank 34, the water does not take an abnormally high temperature. Thereafter, water flows through the water turbine 38 to the water discharger 36 at the point of use.
[0021]
FIG. 4 shows an enlarged cross section of the hose 20. The hose 20 is formed by a woven hose 58, which forms an outer jacket and is made of a water-permeable material. A water feed conduit 60 and a water feed and return conduit 62 are arranged in the jacket outside the fabric hose 58. This water feed and return conduit 62 is used to circulate water to drive the water turbine 38 when approaching the fire site, whereas it is used as an additional feed conduit at the fire site. The
[0022]
An irrigation hose 64 is further arranged in the fabric hose 58, which is punctured according to the type of irrigation gardening hose and always discharges a small amount of water over its entire length. The fabric hose 58 and its internal space are moistened through 64. The release of water is controlled according to the ambient temperature.
[0023]
Furthermore, a current supply cable 66 and a control lead 68 are disposed in the fabric hose 58. These are used, for example, to control a switching valve (not shown) in the fire extinguishing robot.
[0024]
FIG. 5 is a top view showing the operation panel 18 remarkably schematically. A fire hose 20 for a fire extinguishing robot comes out of the operation panel 18, and a cross section of this hose is shown in FIG. On the inlet side located on the left in FIG. 5, a reflux conduit 70 is provided with two feed conduits 72 and 74. The feed conduits 72 and 74 are connected to the outlet 16 of the fire engine 10, and the return conduit 70 is connected to the outlet 14 of the fire engine 10. By means of the switching valve already described in the rotary pump 12, the reflux conduit 70 can be used alternatively as an additional feed conduit.
[0025]
Therefore, when approaching the fire site and in the subsequent fire extinguishing process, the control of the robot can be carried out using both switching valves provided on the fire engine and the robot from the operation panel. In the first position, the switching valve of the fire extinguishing robot moves water back and forth through the water turbine 38 and returns it to the fire engine. At the fire site, all conduits are switched to water supply. At least a portion of the water flow is always directed through the tub 34 and the entire water reaches the water discharger 36 in the case of a complete fire fighting operation.
[0026]
Simultaneously with the switching valve of the fire extinguishing robot, a switching valve (not shown) provided in the vehicle is similarly switched between water supply, reflux, and pure supply.
[0027]
The reel 24 has a relatively tightly adjusted sliding brake. Therefore, the extinguishing robot 22 pulls the hose 20 backward as much as possible on the way to the fire site. Only when the hose friction on the ground and the corner of the building or the pulling force due to tightening of the hose exceeds a predetermined value, the hose 20 in the further section comes out of the hose reel 24 being braked.
[0028]
【The invention's effect】
As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, it can be formed in a small size and light weight, is heat-resistant in spite of a small cost, is explosion-protected, and is used in stairs and rubble fields. Alternatively, a fire extinguishing robot that can be moved even on uneven ground is provided.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a side view schematically illustrating a fire engine equipped with a fire extinguishing robot according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged side view showing a fire extinguishing robot.
FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the fire extinguishing robot shown in FIG.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a hose according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram schematically illustrating an operation panel provided with a connection pipe to a fire engine and a robot, which is arranged between the fire engine and the fire extinguishing robot.
[Explanation of symbols]
12 pump 20 hose 26 housing 28 upper surface 30 side wall 32 side wall 34 double wall tank 36 water discharger 38 water turbine 40 crankshaft 42 plate 44 plate 46 plate 48 plate 50 plate 52 plate 52 plate 54 plate 56 plate 58 fabric hose 60 water Feed conduit 62 Water feed and return conduit 64 Irrigation hose 66 Current supply lead 68 Current control lead

Claims (8)

It has a water discharger (36) connected to a water supply conduit (60) for supplying fire-extinguishing water, a drive source (38), and a moving mechanism (40 to 56) operable by the drive source (38). In the fire-extinguishing robot, the drive source (38) is a water turbine (38) that can be driven by fire-fighting water supplied through the water supply conduit (60) .
Water feed and has been return line (62) is provided, at the time of extinguishing robot non extinguishing operation, the water feed and return line (62) is the water feeding conduit (60), the water turbine (38) and A fire extinguishing robot characterized in that it forms a closed circulation with the pump (12) to cool the robot from the inside.   The fire extinguishing robot according to claim 1, wherein a switching valve for switching between a fire extinguishing operation and water circulation is connected to a front stage of the water discharger (36).   A double-walled tank (34) is formed in the area of at least the upper surface (28) and the side walls (30, 32) of the housing (26) of the fire-extinguishing robot, and the tank (34) is formed in the fire-extinguishing robot. The fire extinguishing robot according to claim 1 or 2, wherein water can be supplied from a hose through a switching valve provided. Units grouped by a permeable textile hose (58) surround the water feed conduit (60), water feed and return conduit (62), irrigation hose (64) and current supply and control leads (66, 68). The fire-extinguishing robot according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the fire-extinguishing robot is provided.   5. The fire extinguishing robot according to claim 4, characterized in that the irrigation hose (64) is a hose in the form of a garden irrigation hose perforated along its length.   The moving mechanism is a walking mechanism, and the walking mechanism has at least one crankshaft (40) supported transversely to the moving direction in the fire extinguishing robot housing (26), and the crankpin At least one group of walking members formed as plates (44, 48, 50, 54) is supported on the second group of walking members formed as plates (42, 46, 52, 56). The fire extinguishing robot according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that is fixedly arranged. The moving mechanism is a walking mechanism, and the walking mechanism is mounted in a housing (26) of a fire extinguishing robot (22) with a group of crankpins oriented in the opposite direction and supported transversely to the moving direction. Having at least one crankshaft (40) with
Walking members in the form of plates (44, 48, 50, 54) on the first group of crankpins and walking members in the form of plates (42, 46, 52, 56) on the second group. 6. The bearing according to claim 1, wherein the plates are mounted so as to carry out movements rotating in the forward, downward, backward and upward directions as follows: Fire extinguishing robot described in 1.   8. A fire extinguishing robot according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the plates (42 to 56) are rectangular plates having a zigzag underside.

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